Big IPL money for Pollard, Bond; Pak players left in cold

Explosive West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard and ageing Kiwi paceman Shane Bond turned out to be the most expensive players, sold for a whopping $750,000 at the third Indian Premier League auction in Mumbai today. IPL auction shuns Pakistan stars | List of IPL players auctioned

Explosive West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard and ageing Kiwi paceman Shane Bond turned out to be the most expensive players, sold for a whopping $750,000 (approx Rs 3.42 crore) at the third Indian Premier League auction in Mumbai on Tuesday.

But 11 Pakistanis, including Shahid Afridi with a base price of $250,000, in a 66-strong pool of players found no takers at the glitzy auction, attended by corporate bigwigs like Vijay Mallya and Nita Ambani and Bollywood stars like Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty.

Pollard, who started with a base price of $200,000, was expectedly one of the most sought after but was ultimately bought by Mumbai Indians with a 'silent tie-breaker bid' after four franchises ended up bidding the maximum on the 22-year-old.

"The tie-breaker bid amount remains with me and the team owners, it won't be disclosed," said IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.

Like Pollard, the 34-year-old Bond (base price $100,000) also attracted a keen bidding war between Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers but the Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata walked away with the Kiwi after out-bidding Deccan in the tie-breaker.